Canis Major: Facts, Myth, Star Map, Major Stars, Deep Sky Objects | Constellation Guide Constellation Guide Constellations: A Guide to the Night Sky Canis Major Constellation Canis Major is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name means “the greater dog” in Latin. Canis Major represents the bigger dog following Orion , the hunter in Greek mythology. The dog is often depicted pursuing a hare, represented by the constellation Lepus . The smaller dog is represented by the neighboring constellation Canis Minor . Both constellations were first catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Canis Major is home to Sirius , the brightest star in the sky, as well as to several notable deep sky objects: the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, the open cluster Messier 41 , the emission nebula NGC 2359 (also known as Thor’s Helmet ), and the colliding spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163. FACTS, LOCATION & MAP Canis Major Map, by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine Canis Major is the 43rd biggest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 380 square degrees.

It is located in the second quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +60° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Columba , Lepus , Monoceros , and Puppis . Canis Major contains one Messier object, the star cluster Messier 41 (NGC 2287), and has four stars with known planets. The brightest star in Canis Major, Sirius ( Alpha Canis Majoris ), is also the brightest star in the night sky. There are no meteor showers associated with the constellation. Canis Major belongs to the Orion family of constellations, along with Canis Minor , Lepus , Monoceros , and Orion . MYTH Canis Major is commonly taken to represent the “greater dog” following the hunter Orion in Greek myth. The constellation is depicted as a dog standing on its hind legs, pursuing a hare, represented by the constellation Lepus . Canis Major was described by Manilius as “the dog with the blazing face” because the dog appears to hold Sirius , the brightest star in the sky, in its jaws.

In mythology, Canis Major is associated with Laelaps, the fastest dog in the world, one destined to catch anything it pursued. Zeus gave Laelaps to Europa as a present, along with a javelin that could not miss. The gift proved to be an unfortunate one, as Europa herself was killed accidentally by her husband Cephalus, who was out hunting with the javelin. Cephalus took the dog to Thebes in Boeotia (a Greek province north of Athens) to hunt down a fox that was causing some trouble there. Like Laelaps, the fox was extremely fast and was destined never to be caught. Once the dog found the fox and started chasing it, the race did not appear to have an end in sight. Zeus himself finally ended it and turned both animals to stone. He placed the dog in the night sky as the constellation Canis Major. MAJOR STARS IN CANIS MAJOR Sirius – α Canis Majoris (Alpha Canis Majoris) Sirius A and Sirius B, photo: Hubble Space Telescope, credit: ESA, NASA, H. Bond (STScI) and M.

Barstow (University of Leicester) Sirius, also known as the Dog Star , is the brightest star in the sky and the fifth nearest star system to the Sun. Sirius is a binary star with an apparent visual magnitude of -1.42. It is only 8.6 light years distant. The brighter component, Sirius A, is a white main sequence star and the companion, Sirius B, is a white dwarf that orbits the primary every 50 years. The distance between the two stars varies between 8.1 and 31.5 astronomical units. The companion is not visible to the naked eye. Sirius A belongs to the spectral class A1V, and the dwarf to DA2. Sirius A has twice the mass of the Sun and is 25 more luminous. Sirius B is almost equal to the Sun in mass (0.98 solar masses) and is one of the most massive white dwarfs known. Sirius A has an absolute visual magnitude of 1.42 and Sirius B, 11.18. The age of the star system is estimated to be between 200 and 300 million years.

The name Sirius comes from the Greek Σείριος (Seirios), which means “scorching,” “glowing” or “searing.” In ancient times, the star rose just before sunrise during the hottest summer period, the so-called Dog Days. Greeks and Romans believed the star was somehow responsible for the summer heat. Sirius A and Sirius B artwork, credit: NASA, ESA, G. Bacon (STScI) In Egypt, Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile. The star’s heliacal rising, just before the annual flooding and the summer solstice, played a crucial role in the Egyptian calendar during the Middle Kingdom era. Along with the stars Rigel in Orion , Aldebaran in Taurus , Capella in Auriga , Pollux/Castor in Gemini , and Procyon in Canis Minor , Sirius forms the Winter Hexagon (or Winter Circle) asterism, which appears prominently in the northern sky between December and March. Sirius is also part of the Winter Triangle (or the Great Southern Triangle), together with Procyon in Canis Minor and Betelgeuse in Orion constellation .

Adhara – ε Canis Majoris (Epsilon Canis Majoris) Adhara is the second brightest star in Canis Major and the 24th brightest star in the night sky. Its name comes from the Arabic aðāra, which means “virgins.” It is a binary star that lies about 430 light years from Earth. The primary component belongs to the spectral class B2 and has an apparent magnitude of 1.5. It is one of the brightest known ultraviolet sources in the sky. The companion star has an apparent magnitude of 7.5 and is located 7.5’’ away from the primary. About 4.7 million years ago, Adhara was the brightest star in the sky. It was only 34 light years distant and had a magnitude of -3.99. No other star has ever been as bright since, nor is one expected to be in the next five million years. Wezen – δ Canis Majoris (Delta Canis Majoris) Wezen is a yellow-white F-type supergiant approximately 1,800 light years distant. It has an apparent magnitude of 1.83.

It is the third brightest star in Canis Major. Wezen can be found about 10 degrees southeast of Sirius . Its name is derived from the Arabic al-wazn“, meaning “the weight.” The star’s estimated age is 10 million years, which means that it will become a red supergiant within the next 100,000 years, and eventually a supernova. Murzim – β Canis Majoris (Beta Canis Majoris) Murzim (Al-Murzim, Mirzam) is a blue-white giant with brightness varying between magnitude 1.95 and 2.00. It is approximately 500 light years distant. The star’s name comes from the Arabic word for “the herald,” presumably referring to Murzim’s position in the sky. (The star rises before Sirius , i.e. it heralds it.) Murzim is classified as a Beta Cephei variable, a star that exhibits variations in brightness as a result of pulsations of its surface.

Aludra – η Canis Majoris (Eta Canis Majoris) Aludra is an Alpha Cygni type variable star, with luminosity varying between magnitude 2.38 and 2.48. It is a blue supergiant, approximately 3,000 light years distant, and already approaching the final stages of its life. It is expected to become a supernova within the next few million years. The star’s name is derived from the Arabic al-‘aðrā, meaning “the virgin.” Along with Adhara, Wezen and Omicron-2 Canis Majoris, Aludra was one of the stars known as the Virgins. Tau Canis Majoris Cluster (NGC 2362), photo: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Harvard-Smithsonian CfA τ Canis Majoris (Tau Canis Majoris) Tau CMa is an eclipsing spectroscopic binary star about 3,200 light years from Earth. It is the brightest star of the open cluster NGC 2362 (Caldwell 64), which is why the cluster is sometimes called the Tau Canis Majoris Cluster.

The star is an O-type blue supergiant classified as a Beta Lyrae type variable. Its brightness varies between magnitude 4.32 and 4.37 with a period of 1.28 days. Phurud – ζ Canis Majoris (Zeta Canis Majoris) Phurud (or Furud) is a spectroscopic binary star. Its name comes from the Arabic phrase al-furud, which means “the solitary ones.” The star lies about 336 light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 3.02. The brighter component is a blue-white B-type main sequence dwarf. The companion is an unseen star. The two orbit around a common centre once every 675 days. Muliphein – γ Canis Majoris (Gamma Canis Majoris) Muliphein is a blue-white B-type right giant, approximately 402 light years distant. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.11.

DEEP SKY OBJECTS IN CANIS MAJOR Messier 41 (M41, NGC 2287) Messier 41 (NGC 2287), Atlas Image mosaic courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF Messier 41 is an open cluster located four degrees south of Sirius . It is 25-26 light years in diameter and between 190 and 240 million years old. The cluster contains about 100 stars, with the brightest one being a K3-type giant located near the centre of the cluster. M41 also contains several red giants. The cluster is approximately 2,300 light years distant. It has an apparent magnitude of 4.5. It was discovered by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Batista Hodierna in the 17th century. Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy (CMa Dwarf) is an irregular galaxy, roughly elliptical in shape, that is believed to be the nearest neighbouring galaxy to the solar system.

It is approximately 25,000 light years distant from Earth and 42,000 light years away from the Galactic Centre. Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy artwork, author: NASA The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy contains about a billion stars, among them a significant number of red giants. The galaxy was first discovered in 2003 by an international team of astronomers. It is a difficult object to observe because it lies behind the plane of the Milky Way, obscured by stars, dust and gas. Because the galaxy’s main body is highly degraded, the Canis Major Dwarf is believed to be severely affected by the Milky Way’s gravitational field. There are a number of globular clusters associated with the galaxy, among them NGC 1851, NGC 1904, and NGC 2808. These clusters are thought to be remnants of the dwarf’s globular cluster system before the galaxy started getting pulled apart and swallowed into the Milky Way. Emission nebula NGC 2359 (Thor’s Helmet), photo: Roberto Mura NGC 2359 – Thor’s Helmet NGC 2359 is an emission nebula in Canis Major.

It is about 30 light years in size, and some 15,000 light years distant from Earth. The nebula is formed around the central Wolf-Rayet star, an extremely hot giant which is about to explode as a supernova. NGC 2207 and IC 2163 NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are colliding spiral galaxies in Canis Major. They are approximately 80 million light years distant. The galaxies were discovered by the English astronomer John Herschel in 1835. They have apparent magnitudes of 12.2 and 11.6, respectively. Three supernovae have been observed in NGC 2207 in recent decades; SN 1975A in 1975, SN 1999ec in 1999, and SN 2003H in 2003. The galaxies are in the process of tidal stripping, with the larger galaxy pulling stars and other material from the smaller one.

Colliding spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163, photo: ESO Astronomy Canis Major Canis Major Visible between latitudes 60 and -90 degrees Best seen in February (at 9:00 PM) Named Stars M41 (open cluster) Canis Major is one of Orion's hunting dogs. The brightest star in this constellation is Sirius, often called the Dog Star. Orion's hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor have no relation to Boötes' Hounds, Canes Venatici . The sky is just filled with dogs... Notice that there are no constellations for the domesticated cat. Therefore, dogs are better than cats! (ha, ha) (See the note an Hydra about the pseudo-constellation Felis). Constellation Canis Major Irregular galaxy CMa Dwarf General: A small and compact constellation of the southern hemisphere. Canis Major contains several bright stars making it conspicious in the night sky. The brightest of all stars, Sirius, belongs to this constellation.

It borders to Monoceros in the north, Lepus to the west and Columba to the southwest while the eastern border is covered by Puppis , therefore it streches roughly from RA = -11 degrees to RA = -33 degrees and Decl = 6h 15m to Decl = 7h 30m, respectively. Together with alpha CMi (Prokyon) and alpha Ori (Betelgeuze) alpha CMa forms the so called Winter Triangle. Stars and objects The star alpha CMa, commonly known as Sirius (from greek sireios meaning "the sparkling"), is the brightest star in the night sky. It apparent magnitude is -1.5 mag. Sirius also belongs to the nearest stars with a distance of just 8.7 light years. This white star has a companion of 8th mag at a distance of approximately 10''. The companion, a white star usually called Sirius B, is not easy to resolve. Amateur scopes are necessary to make it visible as the companion is simply outshined by the main star. Sirius B was discovered 1862 by Alvan Clarke.

Bessel had already noted that there must be a companion as observations showed that Sirius was not standing still in the sky but seemed to pursue a small orbit. Furthermore according to the observations both stars had the same surface color (i.e. same surface temperature), yet the companion was not easy to see. The reason is the small size ot the star. It belongs to a special class of stars called White Dwarfs. The two stars revolve each other about every 50 years. Beta CMa, common name Mirzam (greek: the announcer (of Sirius)), is a blue giant of 2.0 mag. Another double is epsilon CMa: Adhara (meaning: the virgins). The blue giant of 1.5 mag has an 8th mag companion which is difficult to observe as it nearly vanishes in the glare of the main star. In the neighbourhood of delta CMa, called Wezen (a yellow supergiant of 1.9 mag; it lies about 3000 light years distant) several interesting stars and objects can be found: The variable star EW CMa. The variable star UW CMa. The star cluster NGC 2362 .

This nice little cluster of about 40 stars surrounds the star tau CMa, a blue giant of 4th mag. The cluster can be spotted by binoculars or small scopes. Another notable star cluster is M41 . Its a larger cluster with the brightest stars of about 7th mag. Under good conditions it is visible to the naked eye. A good view is obtained by small scopes or binoculars: the brightest stars seemed to be arranged in chains. In 2003 an international team of astronomers discovered a small irregular galaxy in this constellation. It is only 42,000 light years away making it to the nearest neighbour galaxy to our own one. Mythological Background: As the name associates Canis Major (lat.: canis=dog, major=greater) is thought to be one of the hunting dogs of Orion . The second dog is Canis Minor . Canis Major Constellation on Top Astronomer Canis Major Please hover over any star to get more information Canis Major is a constellation in the southern hemisphere. Its name means "the greater dog" in Latin. It was charted by Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

The constellation represents one of the two dogs, the other one being Canis Minor , that follow Orion , the hunter. In some myths, the constellation is said to represent Laelaps, a dog that was so fast no prey could outrun it. When it came across a vicious fox that was just as fast, the race could not come to a resolution and Zeus turned both animals to stone, placing the dog in the sky. The constellation Canis Major occupies an area of 380 square degrees and contains three stars with known planets. It can be seen at latitudes between +60° and -90° and is best visible at 9 p.m. during the month of February. Canis Major is home to the brightest star in the sky. [1382] alpha Canis Majoris, better known as Sirius or the "Dog Star," has a visual apparent magnitude of -1.46 and is only 8.6 light-years away from Earth. It can be seen from any part of the Earth except north of 73°. The only objects brighter than Sirius can be found inside our solar system: the Moon, Venus, Jupiter and occasionally Mercury and Mars.

Sirius is actually a binary star system, composed of a white main sequence star, Sirius A, and a white dwarf, Sirius B. The star is quite significant in many different cultures. The Romans used to sacrifice a brown dog at the beginning of the "Dog Days," when the Dog Star rose just before or simultaneously with the Sun (heliacal rising) because they believed that the star was causing the unbearably hot days of summer, between July 24 and August 24, and it needed to be appeased. The period is still sometimes called the Dog Days in a number of European cultures. In Sweden, they call it "Rötmånad" and in Finland, "Mätäkuu," both meaning "rotting month." In parts of India, where the period lasts for 28 days in April or May, they refer to it as "Kathiri veyyil" ("sunlight that acts like scissors") or "Agni Nakshathram" ("star of fire"). In ancient Egypt, the star was used as a flood warning because it appeared just before the season of the Nile’s flooding.

The name Sirius itself derives from the Greek word "seirios," meaning glowing, searing or scorching. Sirius is known under many different names, including Aschere (from the Arabic "al-shira," meaning "leader"), Mrgavyadha ("deer hunter") or Lubdhaka ("hunter") in Sanskrit, Lokabrenna ("Loki’s torch") in Scandinavian countries, Aoboshi ("blue star") in Japan, and the star of the "celestial wolf" in China. Native peoples of North America also had canine names for the star.

The Blackfoot called it "Dog-face," the Pawnee referred to it as the "Wolf Star" or "Coyote Star," and the Inuit in Alaska called it "Moon Dog." Sirius is part of the Winter Hexagon or Winter Circle, an asterism visible from December to March, that it forms with [5971] Rigel (beta Orionis), [7931] Aldebaran (alpha Tauri), [715] Capella (alpha Aurigae), [3938] and [3940] Pollux/Castor (beta and alpha Geminorum) and [1537] Procyon (alpha Canis Minoris). Another notable asterism is the Winter Triangle, more regularly shaped than the Hexagon. It is formed by [1382] Sirius, [1537] Procyon and [5972] Betelgeuse (alpha Orionis), three of the ten brightest objects in the sky that lie outside our solar system.

Other notable stars in Canis Major are [1383] epsilon Canis Majoris or Adhara ("virgins"), another binary and the second brightest star in the constellation, [1385] beta Canis Majoris, Mirzam or Murzim ("the herald"), a magnitude 2 blue-white giant, [1384] delta Canis Majoris or Wezen ("the weight"), a yellow-white supergiant and the third brightest star in Canis Major, [1386] eta Canis Majoris or Aludra ("the virgin"), a blue supergiant, and [1395] gamma Canis Majoris or Muliphen ("dog's ear"), a relatively faint blue-white B-type bright giant. Finally, there is [1398] tau Canis Majoris, an O-type blue supergiant and the brightest star of the open cluster NGC 2362. The tau CMa star system is among the brightest in the galaxy.

Aside from the star cluster NGC 2362, notable deep sky objects in Canis Major include Messier 41, an open cluster with a great number of stars brighter than the Sun within the space of only 25 light-years across, and the Canis Major Dwarf galaxy, an irregular galaxy which is also the closest satellite galaxy to Earth and contains a high percentage of red giants. Canis Major belongs to the Orion family of constellations, along with Orion , Canis Minor , Monoceros and Lepus . Constellations - Canis Major email this page to a friend Constellations - Canis Major Canis Major is found southeast of Orion. An easy way to locate the constellation is to locate the three stars that make up Orion's Belt and follow the stars down in a southwesterly direction until you come to the next bright star. This is Sirius in Canis Major, it's the brightest star in the constellation and the brightest star in the night sky. Sirius also has a companion star, known as Sirius B. Sirius B was the first 'white dwarf' to be discovered. South of Sirius, the open cluster M41 can be found.

Like all open clusters , it contains a few hundred young stars and has no particular shape. Together the stars are just bright enough to be seen with the naked eye on a clear night with no moon. With binoculars they appear as a faint smudge, and in a telescope the cluster is easily seen, covering about as much sky as the full moon does. The cluster appears low in the sky from northern latitudes and light pollution reduces the splendor of this cluster, but it's still worth a look. TELESCOPIC OBJECTS Sirius is Dog Star and brightest star | Brightest Stars | EarthSky Sirius is Dog Star and brightest star By Deborah Byrd in Brightest Stars | Science Wire | February 10, 2016 Sirius – in the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog – is the sky’s brightest star. It’s very easy to spot on winter and spring evenings. The star Sirius and the nearby star cluster M41 caught on January 2, 2016 in Weatherly, Pennsylvania. Photo by Tom Wildoner at LeisurelyScientist.com The brightest star visible from any part of Earth is Sirius in the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. Sirius is sometimes called the Dog Star.

Follow the links below to learn more about Sirius, the Dog Star and brightest star. The Greater Dog looking super cute in this photo Tom Wildoner ! Brightest star is Sirius. Orion’s Belt points to Sirius How to see Sirius. Most people in the Northern Hemisphere notice Sirius in the southeast – south – or southwest on evenings from winter to mid-spring. February evenings are a grand time to see it. It’s also fun to spot Sirius as it ascends in the east before dawn on late summer mornings. Whenever you see Sirius, you’ll recognize it easily because it is our sky’s brightest star. Although white to blue white in color, Sirius might be called a rainbow star, as it often flickers with many colors. The brightness, twinkling and color changes sometimes prompt first-time observers to report Sirius as a UFO. But these changes have nothing to do with Sirius. Rather, they are what happens when such a bright star as Sirius shines through the blanket of Earth’s atmosphere. The light from Sirius, which often appears fairly low in the sky from the mid-north latitudes, passes through a long column of air before it reaches our eyes.

Changes in density and temperature of this air affect the light and cause the flickering and shimmering we see when we gaze at this star. This happens for other stars, too, but it is more noticeable for Sirius because it is so bright, and because it appears low in the sky. From the mid-northern latitudes such as most of the U.S., Sirius rises in the southeast, arcs across the southern sky, and sets in the southwest. In December, you’ll find Sirius rising in mid-evening. By mid-April, Sirius is setting in the southwest in mid-evening. Sirius is always easy to find. It’s the sky’s brightest star! Plus, anyone familiar with the constellation Orion can simply draw a line through Orion’s Belt, to the left. This line will point to Sirius, which is roughly 8 times as far from the Belt as the Belt is wide. The Egyptian god Osiris History and mythology of Sirius. Sirius is also well known as the Dog Star, because it is the chief star in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog. Have you ever heard anyone speak of the dog days of summer? Sirius is behind the sun as seen from Earth in Northern Hemisphere summer.

In late summer, it appears in the east before sunrise – near the sun in our sky. The early stargazers might have imagined that the double-whammy of Sirius and the sun caused the hot weather, or dog days. Sirius has been known since ancient times, and its name signified its nature as “scorching” or “sparkling.” It was associated with the Egyptian god Osiris and other gods. Ancient Egyptians noted that Sirius rose just before the sun each year immediately prior to the annual flooding of the Nile River. Although the floods could bring destruction, they also brought new soil and new life. Fittingly, Osiris, whom Sirius may have represented, was a god of life, death, fertility and rebirth of plant life along the Nile. In India, Sirius is sometimes known as Svana, the dog of Prince Yudhistira. The prince and his four brothers, along with Svana, set out on a long and arduous journey to find the kingdom of heaven. However, one by one the brothers all abandoned the search until only Yudhistira and Svana were left. At long last they came to the gates of heaven.

The gatekeeper, Lord Indra, welcomed the prince but denied Svana entrance. Yudhistira was aghast and told Lord Indra that he could not forsake his good and faithful servant and friend. His brothers, Yudhistira told the Lord, had abandoned the journey to heaven to follow their hearts’ desires. But Svana, who had given his heart freely, chose to follow none but Yudhistira. The prince told the Lord that without his dog, he would forsake even heaven. This is what Lord Indra had wanted to hear, and then he welcomed both the prince and the dog through the gates of heaven. This Hubble Space Telescope image shows Sirius A, the brightest star in our night sky, along with Sirius B, its faint, tiny stellar companion. Sirius B is the faint, tiny dot at the lower left. Sir. Image credit: H. Bond (STScI) and M. Barstow (University of Leicester) Sirius science. Magnitude is a star’s brightness expressed by a number. The smaller the number, the brighter the star. The visual magnitude of Sirius is -1.44, lower than any other star.

It is 3.5 times brighter than Arcturus in Bootes, the next brightest star easily visible from the northern hemisphere. There are brighter stars in terms of actual energy and light output, but they are farther away and hence dimmer. Normally, the only objects that outshine Sirius in our heavens are the sun, moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury (and usually Sirius outshines the latter two!). The next brightest star (Canopus) after Sirius, and the closest major star (Alpha Centauri) are both too far south in the sky to be easily seen from mid-north latitudes. At 8.6 light-years distance, Sirius is one of the nearest stars to us after the sun. (A light year is nearly 6 trillion miles!) In fact it is the nearest star easily visible to the unaided eye from most of the northern hemisphere. Classified by astronomers as an “A” type star, it is much hotter than our sun, with about surface about 17,000 degrees F (the sun is about 10,000 degrees F).

With slightly more than twice the mass of the sun and just less than twice its diameter, Sirius still puts out 26 times as much energy. It is considered a normal (main sequence) star, meaning that it produces most of its energy by converting hydrogen into helium through nuclear fusion. Sirius has a small, faint companion star appropriately called The Pup. That name signifies youth, but in fact the companion to Sirius is a dead star called a white dwarf. Once a mighty star, today The Pup is an Earth-sized ember too faint to be seen without a telescope. The position of Sirius is RA: 06h 45m 08.9s, dec:-16° 42′ 58″. Image Credit: Yuuji Kitahara Canis Minor: Facts, Myth, Star Map, Major Stars, Deep Sky Objects | Constellation Guide Constellation Guide Constellations: A Guide to the Night Sky Canis Minor Constellation Canis Minor is a small constellation in the northern sky. Its name means “the smaller dog” or “lesser dog” in Latin. The constellation represents one of the dogs following Orion , the hunter in Greek mythology.

The other dog is represented by the larger neighbouring constellation Canis Major . Both constellations were first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Canis Minor is home Procyon, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, Luyten’s Star, one of the nearest stars to Earth, and the spiral galaxy NGC 2485, among other notable objects. FACTS, LOCATION & MAP Canis Minor Map, by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine Canis Minor is the 71st largest constellation in the sky, occupying an area of 183 square degrees. It lies in the second quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ2) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -75°. The neighboring constellations are Cancer , Gemini , Hydra , and Monoceros . Canis Minor does not contain any Messier objects nor does it have any stars with known planets. The brightest star in the constellation is Procyon, Alpha Canis Minoris, which is also the seventh brightest star in the sky. There is one meteor shower associated with the constellation, the Canis-Minorids.

Canis Minor belongs to the Orion family of constellations, along with Canis Major , Lepus , Monoceros , and Orion . MYTH Canis Minor is most commonly identified as one of the dogs following Orion, the hunter in Greek myth. In another legend, the constellation is said to represent Maera, dog of the unlucky wine-maker Icarius, who was killed by his friends after they had mistaken drunkenness for a murder attempt, thinking Icarius had tried to poison them. (They had never tasted wine before.) Maera, Icarius’ dog, found his body and ran to his daughter Erigone. Both the daughter and the dog were overwhelmed with grief and took their own lives. Erigone hanged herself and the dog jumped off a cliff. Zeus later placed their images in the sky. In this version of the constellation myth, Icarius is associated with Boötes, the Herdsman , Erigone with the constellation Virgo , and Maera with Canis Minor. Hyginus (Latin author who lived at the turn of the millennium) confused the myth somewhat in his writings.

He wrote that Icarius’ murderers escaped to the island of Ceos and, as punishment for their misdeed, the island was stricken with sickness and famine, which were attributed to the searing Dog Star , Sirius. (Procyon is mistaken for Sirius here, the other dog star, located in Canis Major .) When Aristaeus, King of Ceos asked the god Apollo, who was also his father, for advice on saving his people from starving to death, he was told to pray to Zeus. Aristaeus did so and Zeus sent Etesian winds to the island. Every year, the myth goes, Etesian winds blow for 40 days and cool Greece and its islands during the Dog Days of summer. After Zeus had sent relief to Ceos, the priests instituted the custom of making ritual sacrifices to the gods every year before the rising of Sirius . In yet another myth, Canis Minor is identified as the Teumessian fox, the animal that could not be outrun, and was eventually turned into stone by Zeus, who also turned its hunter, Laelaps, to stone. (Laelaps was an extremely fast dog, destined to always catch its prey.

In the myth, the dog is represented by the constellation Canis Major .) To commemorate the event, Zeus placed both animals in the sky. MAJOR STARS IN CANIS MINOR Procyon – α Canis Minoris (Alpha Canis Minoris) Procyon is the brightest star in Canis Minor and the seventh brightest star in the sky. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34. Procyon is not extraordinarily bright in itself, but is located pretty close to the Sun; it lies only 11.41 light years away. It is the 13th nearest star system to our own. The stars of the Winter Triangle and the Winter Hexagon The star’s name is derived from the Greek προκύον (prokyon), which means “before the dog.” It is also sometimes called Antecanis, which means the same thing in Latin. The star got this name because it rises before Sirius, the Dog Star , in the sky when observed from most northern latitudes.

Procyon is a binary star system, composed of a white main sequence star, Procyon A, which belongs to the spectral class F5 IV-V, and Procyon B, a DA-type faint white dwarf as the companion. Procyon A has 1.4 solar masses and is 7.5 times more luminous than the Sun, while Procyon B has 0.6 solar masses and an apparent magnitude of 10.7. Scientists believe that life is unlikely in Procyon’s system because the habitable zone may not contain stable orbits because of the presence of the white dwarf and also because Procyon emits more of its light in the ultraviolet spectrum, which is damaging to life forms. Procyon is part of the Winter Triangle asterism, along with Sirius in Canis Major and Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion . It is also one of the vertices of the Winter Hexagon , along with the stars Capella in Auriga , Aldebaran in Taurus , Castor and Pollux in Gemini , Rigel in Orion and Sirius in Canis Major .

Gomeisa – β Canis Minoris (Beta Canis Minoris) Gomeisa, the second brightest star in Canis Minor, is a hot, B8-type main sequence star classified as a Gamma Cassiopeiae variable. It rotates rapidly and exhibits irregular variations in luminosity because of the outflow of matter. These stars are also known as shell stars because they are surrounded by a disk of ejected material, which is heated up by the stars’ emissions. Gomeisa is approximately 170 light years distant. It has a mean apparent magnitude of 2.89, with its brightness varying between magnitudes 2.84 and 2.92. The name Gomeisa is derived from the Arabic al-ghumaisa, which means “the bleary-eyed (woman).” γ Canis Minoris (Gamma Canis Minoris) Gamma CMi is a double star, a spectroscopic binary, approximately 398 light years from Earth. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.33. The main star in the system is an orange K-type giant and the unresolved companion has an orbital period of 389 days.

G Canis Minoris G Canis Minoris (G CMi) is another binary star, approximately 261 light years distant. It is an orange K-type giant with a magnitude of 4.39. Luyten’s Star (GJ 273) Luyten’s Star is a red dwarf, approximately 12.36 light years from Earth. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.87, which makes it very faint to observe. Luyten’s Star is the 22nd nearest star system to our own. The closest approach was about 13,000 years ago, when the star was within 3.67 parsecs. It is now in the process of moving away from the solar system. Luyten’s Star was named after Willem Jacob Luyten, the Dutch-American astronomer who first determined the star’s proper motion. The star is currently located only 1.2 light years from Procyon. DEEP SKY OBJECTS IN CANIS MINOR Canis Minor contains a number of deep sky objects, but all are very faint and difficult to observe.

The brightest is the spiral galaxy NGC 2485, with an apparent magnitude of 12.4. The galaxy is located 3.5 degrees northeast of Procyon. Its coordinates are 07:56:48.7 (right ascension), +07:28:39 (declination). Astronomy

Question: What is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major?
Answer: SIRIUS